Sanitary holder for articles



July 24, 1951 L.. A. CASNATI SANITARY HOLDER FDR ARTICLES 2 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed July 23, 1948 July 24, 195] s 2,561,842

SANITARY HOLDER FOR ARTICLES Filed July 23, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4.29.2JNVENTOR.

LOLA A. CASNATI.

Patented July 24, 1951 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE SANITARY HOLDER FOBARTICLES Lola A. Casnati, New York, N. Y. 7 Application July 23, 1948,.fierial No. 405271 This invention relates to new and usefulimprovements in sanitary holders of the kind disclosed in my U. S.Patent No. 2,373,651; such holder being made by folding a sheet or blankof paper or the like in such manner that the holdor incorporates anupwardly directed central col lapsible apex portion, and a plurality ofdownwardly directed side pocket portions into which side pocket portionsmay be engaged ones fingers for compressing the side pocket portionstoward each other by temporaril resiliently compressing said centralapex portion. Incidental to such collapse, the bottoms of the sidepocket portions are moved in toward each other.

In this way said pocket bottoms are employ able as artificial fingers,for gripping, holding and picking up various articles, while directcontact between the human hand and such an article is avoided, andtherefore the fingers of the hand are shielded from chemicals in thearticles and vice versa. Said artificial fingers are usable for pickingup a11 kinds of articles, for instance, wads of cotton and the like.

According to the patent aforesaid, and also according to my now pendingU. s. patent application Ser. No. 790,419 filed December 8, 1947, now U.S. Patent No. 2,471,308, the paper blank to be folded up is desirably ofsquare shape; and a feature of both of these previous concepts is theprovision of an auxiliar member or auxiliary members for fortifying andstiffening the picker fingers.

According to the present invention, a blank other than a square one isused, and the foldings thereof are so related that, even with materialas the stock of which the blank is constituted, a sturdy structure isprovided, at and above the side pocket bottoms.

A further object of the present invention proposes forming the blank ofheavy paper, plastic coated paper, resinous plastic material or othersimilar inexpensive materials so that the cost of replacing the holderwhen dirty or otherwise unuseable will be very small.

Another object of the present invention proposes forming the blank witha novel arrangement of integrally formed ribs which combine in thefolded position of the blank to form extensions which project below thebottom ends of the side pockets in a manner to form finger-likeprojections for more effectively gripping articles to be picked up.

In accordance with a modification of the in vention, it is proposed toform the blank and the ribs of separate and different materials and tose- 1 Claim. (Cl. 294-25) cure the ribs to the to face of the blank in amanner to be in their proper positions to form the finger-likeprojections when the blank is properly folded.

Still another object of the present invention proposes the provision offinger grip portions on the ribs against which ones fingers are adaptedto engage in a manner to retain the holder against slipping off the endsof the fingers.

It is a further object of this invention to construct a. novel sanitaryholder which is simple and durable, which may be quickly and easilyassembled by the user, which can be replaced at a small cost, and whichcan be manufactured and sold at a reasonable cost.

For further comprehension of the invention. and of the objects andadvantages thereof, reference will be had to the following descriptionand accompanying drawings, and to the appended claim in which thevarious novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings forming a material'part of this disclosure:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the blank for forming the improved sanitaryholder, with folds indicated by broken lines.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view, showing said blank, after all foldings havebeen made to a preparatory extent, in process of beingshaped to form thearticle of the present invention, and so showing in top perspectivevarious relatively angular- .ly ofiset triangular areas or sections ofthe .blarlz.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of said device, as finally formed.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation thereof, looking toward the bottom of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a. vertical section, taken on the line 5-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged partial sectional view takon on the line 6-6 ofFig. 1'.

Fig. 7 is .an enlarged partial sectional view taken on the line 1-! ofFig. 3. i

Fig. 8 is a plan view similar to Fig. 1, but illustrating a blankconstructed in accordance with a modification of the invention.

. Fig. 9 is a side elevational view of the sanitary holder folded fromthe blank shown in Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of one of the ribs used on the blank shownin Fig. 8.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged partial sectional view taken on the line l ll Iof Fig. 8.

In Figs. 245, the thickness of the blank where seen is much exaggerated,to make the drawing .clearer; and for the same reason, in Figs. 3, 4 and9 parts which actually substantially completely vertical fold line 23-24joins the slits I and [2,

and a horizontal fold line 25-26 joins the slits 1 II and 14. The foldlines 23-24and 25-26 subdivide said large square at the center, of theblank I p completed formation of the holder for retaining into foursmaller squares, all of the same size and each of the same size as theeight smaller squares at the outwardly projected arm ends of the cross.Thus twelve equal small squares are defined. 3

Further, there are a number of diagonal fold lines, these marked 21-28,29-36, 31-32, 33-34, 35-36 and 3l-38.

The fold line 28 divides the upper one of the two squares of therightwardly projected arm end into two like triangular areas or sectionsA and 39; and the fold line 2l divides the right-hand one of the twosquares of the upwardlyprojected arm end into two like triangular areasA and 40.

The fold line 34 divides the other of the two squares of the upwardlydirected arm end into two like triangular sections B and 4!; and thefold line 33 divides the upper one of the two squares of the leftwardlyprojected arm end into two like triangular sections B and 42. i

The fold line 32 divides theother of the two squares of the leftwardlyprojected arm end into two like triangular sections C and 43; and thefold'line 3| divides the left-hand one of the two squares of thedownwardly projected arm end into two like triangular sections C and 44.

The fold line 35 divides the other of the two squares of the downwardlyprojected arm end into two like triangular sections D and. 45; and thefold line 29 divides the lower one of the two squares of the rightwardlydirected arm end into two like triangular sections D and 46.

The large central square section bounded by the fold lines Iii-It,ll-IS, 19-20, and 21-22, by being traversed by the four diagonal foldlines 35-36 and 31-38, is subdivided into eight sections each also oftriangular outline; these eight sections being marked, respectively,41,. 48, 49,50, 5|, 52, 53 and 54.

The eight sections last mentioned are all-of isosceles triangularoutline, as are the twelvetriangular sections at the four cross armends. And all twenty-four of said triangular sections are of the samearea.

The blank of this first formof the invention is preferably formed ofresinous plastic material in sheet form and the top face of'the blank onopposite sides of the fold lines 35-36 and'3l-38 is integrally formedwith upwardly extending triangular bosses 50 arranged opposite to eachother, as shown particularly in Fig. 6. These bosses 60 are so arrangedthat when the holder is folded as shown in Fig. 3, the bosses 6U combineto form reinforcing ribs along the inside faces of the side pockets. Theouter ends of the bosses 60 extend beyond the peripheral edges of thecentral section of the blank at the junction of the projecting side armsthereof, as shown in Fig; l. 'The bosses 6!] are formed with inturnedouter ends BI and in the folded condition of the blank, the ex;-v tendedends of the bosses form pointed finger-like projections 62 which projectbeyond the bottoms of the side pockets, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, tofacilitate gripping of the articles to be picked up by the holder.

In the preferred form of this modification, the bosses 60 are integrallymolded with the resinous sheet material from which the blank is formed;however, if desired the blank could be formed of heavy paper 'or plasticcoated paper and the bosses could be separately formed and thenincrustated'on the top face of the blank by a suitable coating material.

Intermediate of their ends, the bosses 60 are formed with finger gripportions 60 against which ones fingers are adapted to engage in the theholder against slipping off the fingers.

Considering the side of the blank seen in Fig. l as the top of theblank, the folding bends are upward along the lines 23-24 and 25-26, anddownward along all the fold lines 35-36 and 31-38. The blank when thuscreased, and then again laid fiat with its top uppermost, becomesarranged as in Fig. 2.

Now, there are four partially formed but definitely existing gully-likedepressions all downwardly and fiaringly outwardly sloped, thesepartially to provide the four side pocket portions aforesaid. One ofthese side pocket portions now hastwo of its four sides constituted bythe sections 41 and 43, with these two sections downwardly laterallyconverging toward the crease at the fold line 37; the second of saidside pocket portions now has two of its four sides constituted by thesections 49 and 50, with these two sections downwardly laterallyconverging toward two sections downwardly laterally converging towardthe crease at the fold line 38; and the fourth ofsaid side pocketportions now has two of its four sides constituted by the sections 53and 54, with these two sections downwardly laterally converging towardthe crease at the fold line 35. Each of these gully-like depressions,all of which diverge radially from the meeting point 55 of various foldlines at the center of the blank, has centrally of its bottom one of thefour fold lines 23, 24, 25 and 23. Said point 55 will mark the apex ofthe central collapsible apex portion aforesaid, when the device isfinally formed.

Further, at this point, however, considering Fig. 2, the slits ill, ll,[2 and M, are now widely diverged toward the outer limits of the blank;thereby as here shown to bring the section A closely adjacent to thesection 4!], the section D closely adjacent to the section 45, thesection 0 closely adjacent to the section 44, and the section B closelyadjacent to the section 42. p

This situation having been set up, the device is completed, as shown inFigs. 3-5, by swinging around the square A-ts under and so as to enclosethe section A.4fi, by swinging around the square section 13- 11 underand so as to enclose the section B'-52, by swinging around the squaresection (3-53 under and so as to enclose the section C'-44, and byswinging around the square section D-45 under and so as to enclose thesection 17-455. Thus, finally, the fold line 28 will lie outwardly ofbut aligned with the fold line 2'1, the fold line 34 will lie outwardlyof but aligned with the fold line 33, the fold line 32 will lieoutwardly of but aligned with the fold line 3|, and

One of said pockets will be interiorly bounded by the four triangularsections A, it, 41 and 48, with this pocket of two-ply thickness at thesections A and 40 (note also A and 39); another of said pockets will beinteriorly bounded by the four triangular sections 13, 32, 53 and 54,with this pocket of two-ply thickness at the sections B and 42 (notealso B and it) another of said pockets will be interiorly bounded by thefour triangular sections C, 44, and 52, with this pocket of twoplythickness at the sections C and Ml (note also C and 43) and the fourthof said pockets will be interiorly bounded by the four triangularsections D, M3, 49 and 50, with this pocket of twoply thickness at thesections D and 46 (note also D and 45). In regard to these two-plythickness at the two outer sides of each of said four pockets, note alsoFig. 4, in regard to the pocket including the sections C and C, and notealso Fig. 5, in regard to the pocket including the sections B and B.

With the fingers of a persons hand placed in said four pockets, fourartificial picker fingers having extending finger-like projections 62pursuant to the invention, are provided as shown, in the case of two ofthem, at 56 and 51 in Fig. 4, and in the case of the other two thereof,at 5B and 59 in Fig. 5.

At the inner ends of the ribs 60, the blank is formed with four foldlines arranged'about the central apex 55 along which the central portionof the blank is adapted to be flattened to form a flattened top portionat the center of the holder, see Figs. 4 and 5.

Very light weight resinous plastic sheet material may be used for theblank, and a most satisfactory holding device provided. With a materialemployed which is of such inherent stiffness that creases or foldstherein have a fairly strong tendency toward self-sustentation, thefoldings described may be relied on to hold the device as in Figs. 3-5.However, additional means may be used, as staples, adhesives or thelike, for attaching together the sections A and A, the sections B and B,the sections C and C and the sections D and D. i

, In the connection last-mentioned, and recalling the previous statementthat the blank as shown in Fig. l is assumed there to have its topuppermost, and if formed of plastic material or plastic coated material,the spots of the triangular sections A, B, C and D as respectivelyindicated at a, b, c, and 12, when the device is finally formed as inFigs. 3-5, are adapted to secure the then overlapping sections A-A,B-B', C-C and D-D together under slight heat and pressure which willseal the spots a, b, c and d to the spots indicated in dot and dashlines at ar, br, cr and dr on, respectively, the sides of the sectionsA, B, C and D which when the device is formed as in Figs. 3-5 will bethe outer sides of the four sections last-namedsaid sides of saidsections being the reverse sides thereof as the blank is seen in Fig. 1.

In the modification of the invention shown in Figs. 8 to 11, theconstruction of the sanitary holder is similar to that previouslydescribed, except that the blank from which the holder is folded isformed of heavy paper, plastic coated paper or other similar material.

In addition, the bosses B0 are separately formed of a foldable resinousplastic material and are secured throughout a major portion of theirlength to the top face of the blank by means of an adhesion 63, see Fig.11.

The free ends of the bosses 60 extend beyond the peripheral edges of thecentral portion of the blank at the junctions of the projecting sidearms, as shown in Fig. 8, and in the folded position of the blank shownin Fig. 9, those free ends extend beyond the bottoms of the side pocketsforming finger-like projections 52 for gripping the article to be pickedup by the holder.

The free ends of the bosses 60' are bent inwards as shown at 6| in Figs.9 and 10, so as tocontact one another when the side pockets of theholder are drawn together to insure a grip upon very small articleswhich it is desired to pick up with the holder.

As in the previous form of the invention, the bosses 6B are formedintermediate their ends with finger grip portions 6E! against which onesfingers are adapted to engage to retain the holder against slipping fromthe ends of the fingers. The finger grip portions 60 are formed byproviding the bosses 60 adjacent their top ends with inward projectingV-shaped formations as clearly illustrated in Fig. 10.

In other respects this form of the invention is similar to thatpreviously described, and like reference numerals identify like parts ineach of the several views.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiments of myinvention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to theprecise constructions herein disclosed and the right is reserved to allchanges and modifications coming within the scope of the invention asde-.

plurality of downwardly directed side pocket portions into which one mayengage ones fingers for pressing the side pocket portions toward eachother, each of said side pockets being of the shape defined by aninverted four-sided pyramid, in the case of each pocket, two of thewalls of such pyramid being of two-ply thickness, each such ply beingprovided by a section of the sheet of triangular shape, in the case ofeach pocket said walls of two-ply thickness being immediately adjoining,and being the two walls of said pocket remote from said central apexportion, said sheet being of cruciform outline before folding and havinga central square area from the four sides of which project the arm endsof the cross, each of said arm ends being of an area equal to onehalfthat of said central square area.

LOLA A. CASNATI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 847,545 Braine Mar. 19, 19072,373,651 Casnati Apr. 17, 1945 2,439,335 Casnati Apr. 6, 1948 2,471,308Casnati May 24, 1949

